Tao of Poker

Some Hands

Here are a couple of random hands (in four different ring games - Limit Hold'em, NL, PLO, and TD) which I played online the last few nights that were blogworthy.

7-7: 1/2 NL on Full Tilt

I had been mucking tons of crappy hands during my fifth orbit at a nine-handed NL table. Most of the pots were being played by three different super-loose players and the majority of the money was being pushed back and forth between the three. The remainder of the table was weak-tight with two short-stacks. The biggest stack had 3x the max buy-in. In MP, I raised 4x the BB with 7-7. The CO, button, and both blinds called. I lost position in a five-way pot and asked the poker gods to flop me a set. A beautiful 7 of diamonds appearedl on the flop along with a 3 of clubs and the Ace of diamonds.

"Action flop!" I yelled at my laptop. I bet the pot (about $40) and the button raised to $80. The LB check-raised all in for $100 total. I had both players covered and pushed my remaining $150 in as well. I was up against A-8o and Jd-10d. The turn was the 2 of diamonds and the river was the case seven. My re-suck felted two players. I left two hands later because the nimrod who went broke with TPSK (top pair shitty kicker) did not rebuy. I tagged him for future hunting expeditions.


2-2-3-4-7: .50/1 Triple Draw on Poker Stars

I raised on the button and got three callers in a micro-limit TD game. I'm drawing smooth to the nuts, but any 5 or 6 or 8 would suffice. One opponent drew four and the others drew three. I kept jamming the pot during each betting round. My first draw: 2c. Second draw: 2d. What the fuck? I picked up all four 2s in the deck. The last draw: 7. I wanted to shoot myself when a guy with Queen high won the pot.


Kh-Kc-Qh-Jc: 2/4 Pot Limit Omaha (Six-handed) on Full Tilt

I'm a big fan of double suited royal cards in PLO, especially in a short-handed game. I lost 1/3 of my stack two hands earlier after I flopped a straight and missed a flush redraw. That happens a lot in Pot Limit Omaha and I was ready to get my chips back after a flop of: Jx-Jh-9c. I flopped trips and had two backdoor flush draws with a gutshot straight draw. I bet out and was raised the pot. I thought about reraising the guy with the donkey as an avatar, but wanted to see if I could pick up more outs before I committed the remainder of my chips. The turn 10c. I made a straight and picked up a redraw to a straight flush. I bet out and he raised the pot. I re-raised and he pushed all-in. I called the rest of my chips and yelled, "Awww fuck me!" when he showed: 9-9-x-x. He flopped the boat and I was chasing outs for a bigger boat or the coveted straight flush. Both missed and I got felted.


K-Q: 5/10 Limit on Full Tilt

Classic example of how my luck prevails over any skills in my arsenal. I dunno why I called a raise in MP with K-Qo after the guy UTG + 1 raised, but I did. Usually those hands are tossed into the muck or if I do play them, I come in for a raise especially in EP. For some reason I felt like gambling and quickly hit the call button. The flop: A-10-9. He checked to me and I checked. The turn: J. My money card gave me a Broadway straight. He checked-raised me on the turn and I three-bet. He quickly capped. I had to put him on K-Q or J-J. Would he be raising with K-Q in EP? I've seen a plethora of Partyfish that have invaded the 5-10 games on FT raise with marginal hands like that so K-Q was possible. J-J seemed more likely and I hoped that the board wouldn't pair. River was a blank. He bet out and I raised. He called and my Broadway took it down.

He had A-9 and slowplayed his flopped two pair. His fancy play cost him the pot. His first mistake was playing A-9 in EP. At least he raised with it. His second mistake was slowplaying two pair. He got greedy and wanted to check-raise me. That backfired when I checked behind him. If he bet out on the flop, I would have folded my gut-shot. Instead, he let me catch up and nail a four outer. Always play your hands fast online. Like Grubby used to say, "Never slowplay in Limit unless you flop the absolute nuts."